Friday, 11 October 2013

First plays second this weekend as
Pontypool host Ebbw Vale with the Steelmen looking to extend their lead at the
top of the Swalec Championship.

Jason Strange’s men have gone from
strength to strength so far this season and after last week’s hammering of
Blackwood, they will be confident of a sixth straight win.

Elsewhere Cardiff Met host Bargoed
in what could be a thriller whilst Bonymaen travel to Newbridge looking to
build on their first win of the season last weekend.

Beddau v Bridgend Athletic

With Beddau and Bridgend Athletic lingering
towards the wrong end of the division, both sides will be hoping for an all-important
win that could go a long way towards fending off possible relegation.

Bridgend Athletic have yet to win
since their opening day defeat of Blackwood and have not really looked capable
of causing much damage to oppositions since.

Beddau have been on the wrong end
of some heavy defeats in the past few weeks conceding 94-points in their last
two games.

I think home advantage will be the
deciding factor in the match with the Green and Golds coming out on top of a
tight affair.

Verdict – Beddau by 8 points.

Blackwood v Narberth

Blackwood have had a wretched start
to the campaign and only have a solitary win against basement boys Bonymaen to
show for it.

But despite losing 45-6 to Ebbw
Vale last weekend, it does not tell the whole story as Blackwood were only 12-6
down at half time and were competitive.

Narberth have been too inconsistent
thus far and will want to change that if they are to be competing at the top
end of the table.

They played out a thrilling 36-all
draw at home to Cardiff Met last weekend and showed they are capable of playing
some fantastic running rugby when they want to.

All things considered, I think the
Otters will come away with the result.

Verdict – Narberth by 10 points.

Cardiff Met v Bargoed

Even at this early stage of the season,
another defeat for either of these sides could severely harm their attempts at
challenging for the title.

Bargoed were more like the side of
last season when they thrashed Beddau last weekend and will hope to continue that
excellent display when they travel to Cyncoed tomorrow.

The Students of Cardiff Met were
involved in the cracker with Narberth last weekend but allowed the Otters to
nick a late draw.

This could be the game of the
weekend with the Students flair going up against Bargoed’s physicality but at
the final whistle I think Cardiff Met will just edge it.

Verdict – Cardiff Met by 6
points.

Newbridge v Bonymaen

Bonymaen will have been delighted
to finally get off the mark last Saturday when they edged Tondu at home.

They will undoubtedly feel that a
weight has been lifted from their shoulders and can go out there without the
stress of wondering where their first victory is going to come from.

Newbridge were unsuccessful in
toppling Llanharan at the Dairy Field in their last outing and are another that
have been too inconsistent for their own liking.

Despite Bony’s heroics at Parc Mawr
last weekend, in my opinion Newbridge will have too much for their opponents at
the Welfare Ground.

Verdict – Newbridge by 17 points.

Pontypool v Ebbw Vale

The ominous thing about Ebbw Vale
so far during the current campaign is that they have seen off all challengers
rather comfortably but have not yet played to their full potential.

Pontypool are the next team to try
and have beat the Steelmen and will be confident after winning four of their
opening five games.

Last week’s away win at RGC 1404
was their best so far but they will have to perform a whole lot better and hope
the Eugene Cross Park outfit have somewhat of an off day if they are to have
any chance of coming away with a result.

Verdict – Ebbw Vale by 22 points.

Tata Steel v Llanharan

The battle of the bulge this
weekend with both sides heavy forward units likely to decide the outcome.

Llanharan’s only defeats so far
have been to Cardiff Met and Tondu but some satisfaction for them will be to
know that they were games they could have just as easily won.

They hit their strides against
Newbridge last weekend and are another with a great squad capable of having a
very good season.

Tata Steel were fancied by many to
be challenging at the top throughout the year but have not yet clicked.

The Saints will need their
formidable pack to be at their rampaging best against Llanharan but the
Dairymen will eventually churn out the result.

Verdict – Llanharan by 5 points.

Tondu v RGC 1404

The North Wales outfit’s only
success so far in their debut season in the Championship has been away from
home which is very surprising considering the fortress that was Parc Eirias
last year.

They will be hoping of a repeat of
their previous away fixture when they ran riot at Blackwood winning 56-10.

Tondu will want to bounce back from
their tight loss to Bonymaen last weekend and send the Colwyn Bay side back
north with no joy.

The Waterwheelers will have to be
strong at the set-piece if they are to get anything from the game but I don’t think
they are capable of doing so.